


house on fire

by ilgaksu



Series: the greatest [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Olympics, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Coming Out, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Homophobia, Korean Keith (Voltron), M/M, Mixed Media, News Media, Social Media, Underage Drinking, transmedia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-08-29 17:11:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8498344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilgaksu/pseuds/ilgaksu
Summary: When Lance McClain is eighteen, he qualifies for the Olympics.When he's nineteen, he meets Keith.Correlation does not mean cause, until it totally does.





	1. 2015/2016

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aknightley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aknightley/gifts).
  * Inspired by [please tell me it's just the fandom freaking out](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7339108) by [OneSweetMelody](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneSweetMelody/pseuds/OneSweetMelody). 



> Some notes: 
> 
> Keith is 17 during this chapter. Lance is 19. Nothing romantic happens until Keith is 18. If that makes you uncomfortable, feel free to skip! A gay slur is used. If you want to avoid it, skip from "Lance takes the bottle out of her hands" to "Mama rang whilst you were in the shower," and you're good. Similarly, there's a series of skeevy articles after Keith turns 18. If you want to avoid, skip from the end of Lance's Wikipedia page to the beginning of Keith's Wikipedia page.

  

 

lance mcclain

lance mcclain **gay**

lance mcclain **girlfriend**

lance mcclain **twitter**

lance mcclain **cuba**

lance mcclain **olympics**

 

Out of the Closet and On Their Way to Rio: 30 Out Athletes under 30 - outmagazine.com[  
](https://t.co/11xSVQbOzy)

Backlash as teenage Olympian outs himself on Twitter - DailyMail.co.uk 

Opinion: Lance McClain is a sign of change in Cuba - Telegraph.com 

It's 2016. The Lance McClain story isn't news anymore - HuffingtonPost.com

10 times Lance McClain Broke The Internet -  Buzzfeed.com 

Cuba's first openly bisexual athlete just qualified for the Olympics - and you should care about that. -  Medium.com 

Publicity stunt or PR disaster? Cuba's Lance McClain comes out day after qualifying for Rio -  SportsDaily.com 

 

 **eva @jjholtz** When an 18 yr old breaks the wORLD record in an olympic qualifier but @FoxNews are busy wetting themselves over his ex-bf

 

 **Glitter Bitch @gigi89** OK but srsly nobody knew who this kid was until a week ago. I'm calling it. His PR put him up to this **RT:** “Publicity stunt or PR disaster? Cuba's Lance McClain comes out day after qualifying for Rio - SportsDaily.com”

 **eva @jjholtz** @gigi89 yeah bc we’re all just doing it for the attention right

 

 **Lance McClain @lance-mcclain** when the top google searches for u can’t decide if ur gay or not over ur ex..... #pickaside #heardthatbefore #theirony

 

 **Lance McClain @lance-mcclain** shout out 2 every1 who told me 2 get a life in hs. I did. #GoingtoRio #3:38 #biboysdoitbetter **RT:** **@bbcnews** “Lance McClain breaks world record, is first Cuban swimmer to qualify for Rio - BBCNews.co.uk”

 **100% salt @bobaqueen** @lance-mcclain ur gay??

 **Lance McClain @lance-mcclain** @bobaqueen Bisexual #equalopportunities

 

**Trending:**

#Rio2016

#Ghostbusters

#Detroit

#biboysdoitbetter

 

*

For the first twelve hours, Lance doesn’t check the news. He turns off his Twitter notifications and orders in takeout and when his phone still won’t stop vibrating he switches that off too. He ignores his sister watching him in the tiny Havana apartment they’ve shared since he was sixteen and newly broken up with Dave-from-Miami, the American expat’s son back in Varadero who’d shrugged and bumped fists with him when Lance made the junior division. Lance takes the bottle out of her hands when she holds it out and gets spectacularly fucking drunk before opening Google. It’s funnier then.

“Let’s take a shot for every time they say _maricón_ ,” he says. It’s easier to sound brave here; his voice is loud and the apartment is smaller every year.

“Mama rang whilst you were in the shower,” his sister says, casually, like she can’t tell Lance is riding wildly between the high of breaking the world record, of qualifying for the Olympics, of getting everything he’s ever wanted handed to him on a plate - between that, and this. But she’s known Lance his whole life. “She said ring back when you’re feeling up to it.”

“Tomorrow?” he says, and his sister nods.

“Sure. Tomorrow’s fine, she said.”

She settles beside him then, smelling like freesia shampoo, her damp hair cold against his shoulder when she leans against him. She’d already washed it this morning, but then she’d run to the grocery store and gotten the tequila whilst Lance was in the shower. She’d probably planned it all to give him as much space as she can in their shoebox.

“Are you gonna cry?” she asks him, and Lance shrugs. His teeth clack against the rim of the bottle. The tequila stings against his mouth. He clicks on another article.

“You don’t have to do this tonight,” she reminds him softly. He hadn’t wanted to do it at all, but there’s a weight to fear: the fear of being outed, horror stories of clickbait articles where they don’t name the athletes outright, but they might as well have done. There’s only so many Latin American swimmers in the Village. It’d only take his nationality, and sometimes you have to take your own heart out to balance the scales back.

“It’s nothing I haven’t heard before,” he says, scrolling down the screen, half his head back playing at being fifteen in Varadero, kissing a boy from Miami; his chest thundering with the terror of being caught, desire heavy as the devil on his back. The way he’d looked over his shoulder all the way home, like someone would see the shadow of another boy’s mouth on him and know.

“Lance, baby, that’s not....this isn’t how any of this works,” his sister says, and before he knows how, he’s crying into her shirt so hard his breathing’s hitching.

“I want,” he stumbles over it, tripping over like he had done at fifteen, too busy watching out to see the hole in the fucking road ahead, “I want to be brave. I want.”

I want, I want, I want: are you allowed to feel bad about the burning house if you poured the gasoline out over the ground yourself?

“Honeybee,” she says, her hold tightening, “You already are.”

*

 

At **#8** on the list is **Keith Kogane** , one of the gymnasts for the US National Team. At only seventeen, he qualified for Rio at last year’s World Championships, where he already netted one gold. You’ve probably seen some of his routines when they went viral earlier this year. A second-gen and openly gay Korean-American from San Francisco, he’s definitely keeping up more than one kind of community pride!

**_11 Openly Queer Olympians Out For The Crowds This Year_ \- Buzzfeed.com**

 

 **Lance McClain @lance-mcclain** BREAKFAST WITH MY MAIN MAN HUNK WHO NEEDS TO GET A TWITTER SO I CAN SHOW HIM OFF <3333333

 **Pidge Gunderson @pgunderson @lance-mcclain** lance that’s gay

 **Lance McClain @lance-mcclain @pgunderson** that’s homophobic

 **Lance McClain @lance-mcclain @pgunderson** macklemore didn’t die for this

 

**casvintvr:**

 

Me: god give me a reason to get up today

God: lance mcclain is bisexual, bilingual and biracial

Me: ur right ur so right

#i’m gay and i love my son #lance mcclain #rio 2016 #olympic blogging #personal

**289 notes**

 

**gmormont:**

 

Psa that if you ask lance mcclain about his exes in order to force him to prove some kind of evidential bisexuality ur trash n i hate u

#stop it #it’s gross #and invasive #looking at u fox news #lance mcclain

**3,005 notes**

 

**fuckyeahkeithkogane:**

 

_I don’t see the point in [talking about my personal life]. That’s not what people care about. That’s not what I care about._

**_You don’t care at all?_ **

_That’s not what I’m here for._ [x]

#tiny gay ball of rage #light of my life #keith kogane #leia cries over sports #queue tag

**5,845 notes**

 

CC: _....and if you look now, we have the Cuban national team approaching. Christian Louboutin designed their uniforms, heavy on the red motif this time around. Cuba is, of course, a Communist government.....They’ve had a stellar record of qualifiers this year. Four swimmers qualified, a twice-over increase on the last Olympics....of course, it’s difficult to mention Cuba these days without making reference to Lance McClain, this year’s breakout star of the qualifiers. I wonder how he’s feeling._

CK: _I think the same as any first time Olympian, to be honest. You’re bloody terrified, aren’t you?_

_[Both laugh]_

CC: _I mean, I doubt anyone’s been more prominent in recent months. Of course, McClain made headlines when he broke the 400m freestyle world record for the men’s division in the qualifiers. I’m excited to see if he can top that._

CK: _He’s got to be feeling the pressure._

**_Extract from BBC News’ Coverage of the Rio 2016 Olympics Opening Ceremony._ **

 

DR: _This year's one to watch for the US team is clearly -_  
FY: _Kogane, right? You were gonna say Kogane._ __  
DR: _....yeah, I was gonna say Kogane._  
FY: _Seventeen. You gotta wonder what they put in the water in California._

 _  
_ **_Extract from NPR news coverage, Day 1 of the Rio 2016 Olympics._ **

 

*

Lance meets a seventeen-year-old Keith his first night in the Village.

“I wonder if they, like, put us together because of the gay thing,” he says. Keith rolls his eyes.

“You’re not gay,” he says, scanning his surroundings. He’s wearing a black shirt and jeans in the heat of the Rio night. Lance, the soft cotton of an old tank top sticking to his back, could almost forgive him for being cranky.

“So you have heard of me,” Lance crows. Keith huffs out a breath and folds his arms.

“Google isn’t that hard, Lance.”

“No, I’m serious though,” Lance says, downing the rest of his beer. “Does that never happen to you at parties? Oh, look, here’s my friend’s gay friend, you’re my gay friend, you’ve got so much in common you’re practically a matching set?”

“I don’t go to parties,” Keith replies. He’s frowning out at the crowd, probably wondering when Hunk and Pidge are bringing their drinks back from the war. The place is running wild, fucking up and alive with the energy of several hundred thousand athletes letting go after four years of self-discipline, albeit a little early: Keith’s roommate starts events tomorrow, so he’d been handed off to Hunk-and-Lance, the saviour next door neighbours. Lance opens his mouth to make a joke about whether the Village’ll run out of condoms this year, looks at Keith’s pale and severe profile by him, and decides, miraculously, to drop it. Technically, Keith’s not supposed to be drinking here in Rio, but they don’t enforce it, and like they’re going to turn away America’s best hope at reviving a dying sport. What a fucking boy wonder.

“You said that out loud,” Keith says, and Lance shrugs.

“It’s not anything you don’t know.”

Keith shrugs in turn and fiddles with his empty beer glass, eyes down. In four days’ time, they’ll pin a number to his chest, and he’ll walk out across the floor, his gloved hands already chalky with dust. He won’t look at his coach, or at the crowds, or at anyone. Not many people will look at him at first, not outside of those who’ve already fallen for the sport. But as he keeps flying, as the score keeps ratcheting up; slowly and surely with each revolve like the turning of some invisible lever, people will open a new tab at work or click on a hyperlink on the subway. For those few minutes, they’ll just watch. They won’t be able to help it.  

“Lance McClain,” he replies, “Three minutes, thirty eight seconds. Fifty two miliseconds. 400m Men’s Freestyle.”

Lance grins. Keith keeps watching as a group of German cyclists run past whooping drunkenly, carrying one of the Japanese fencers aloft.

“You don’t like beer,” Lance responds, and Keith looks up with a sudden surprised flash of his eyes. “Do you?”

Keith looks down at the dregs of his glass, still toying with it absently. His nails are clipped brutally short.

“Not really,” Keith says, grimacing.

“Dude, you should’ve just said!”

“I didn’t know.”

They stare at each other for a moment. Keith almost smiles.

“Guys, guys,” Hunk says, weaving through the tables with alarming speed, four glasses in his hand and Pidge following with another four behind. “It was last orders, so I panicked.”

“Yeah,” Lance says dryly, “You’ve sure done that before.”

Hunk puts another beer down in front of Keith, and something neon and sugary in front of Lance. Lance leans forward and switches them. Keith looks at him and raises his eyebrows.

“What,” Lance says, “You said you don’t like beer. You don’t want it? I can take it back.”

Hunk is watching them both curiously, but Lance ignores him.

“I didn’t say I didn’t want it,” Keith replies.

*

SN: Are you nervous?  
KK: No.

  
**_Keith Kogane, US Team (Men's Gymnastics), to Sky News before the Horizontal Bar Finals._ **

 

17-year-old gymnast wins gold medal at Rio - BBCNews.co.uk  
Sweet seventeen: Gay Teenager Gets The Gold - DailyMail.co.uk 

California to Rio: Keith Kogane wins gold medal - SanFranTribunal.com 

 

.....a ward of the state and California native, it's easy to see how Kogane - a Korean-American and openly gay teenager - has whipped up medal fever back home in the States with the first gold for Team US so far.

  
**_Extract from ‘America’s Boy Wonder: why care about Keith Kogane?’, Huffington Post._ **

 

Lance McClain is first Cuban swimmer on the podium in years - ITVNews.co.uk 

**Fox News** **@** **FoxNews** McClain gains silver for Cuba in 200m Men’s Freestyle Final  http://23689.bitly.com 

**fuck you cupcake** **@** **s** **-i-m-f** LOOK AT HIM I'M CRYING **RT: @HuffPost** "Watch live reaction when Lance McClain is told his score by our newscaster"

 **never ready @shirotvnvka** @s-i-m-f HE DIDN'T KNOW OH MY GOD

 **fuck you cupcake** **@** **s** **-i-m-f** @shirotvnvka "are you sure" my SON

 

Lance McClain wins silver; more importantly, our hearts - Buzzfeed.com

 

 **never ready @shirotvnvka** I'm so fuCKIN PUMPED TO WATCH THE 400M NOW FAM THAT'S HIS EVENT

 

SN: _How are you feeling?_  
LM: _Like I wanna go out tonight and celebrate, but my coach won't let me._  
SN: _The 400m heats are tomorrow, right?_  
LM: _Yeah. I'm grounded. [he laughs]_

  
**_Transcript from interview with Lance McClain, Day 5 of Rio 2016 Olympics._ **

 

 **gays in space @spacegay1789** "I'm grounded" Lance pls

 

*

After the closing ceremony, Lance breaks rank almost immediately. He weaves impatiently through the milling crowds in the stadium grounds; past the desperately kissing couples, lips and saliva a connected lifeline, past the group selfies and the lit-up screens of athletes swapping numbers, their faces hollowed out by the glare. He ducks past twelve languages impatiently, eyes half-blinded by the stadium lights, by the feeling in his chest, by the phantom weight of gold in his hands. No, the phantom memory. His hipbone stings, the itch a counterpoint to the heat. Eyes locked onto stars at last, he nearly runs.

“Hey,” Keith says, looking up in the meandering leftovers of his team. “Why are you -- you’re here.”

“Smooth, Kogane,” one of the track guys snickers. The flood lights glint off the surprise in Keith’s eyes, and they both ignore him.

“Wanna get out of here?” Lance says, and realises a beat later what that sounds like when one of Keith’s team - a teenager from Chicago who’d taken bronze to Lance’s gold in the 400m and dropped out of the 50m during heats - wolf-whistles and a couple of others laugh. It could be meant well, but Lance knows meaning well. This doesn’t ring the same, somehow. Keith frowns, the line of his shoulders going taut, then slackening a second later when Lance smiles at the guy over his shoulder and says, “Better luck next time, honey.”

Keith follows him out of the stadium, close at his back, a constant hovering dark-eyed heat. Lance’s hip itches. He looks over his shoulder at Keith and grins.

“Let’s take the long route,” Lance shouts, and Keith nods, keeping his eyes locked on Lance. Lance rolls his eyes, reaches back and grabs the material of Keith’s jacket sleeve between his fingers.

He says, “I’m not gonna lose you, dude.”

Keith just nods, the light in his eyes like separate, glowing moons.  

*

 **kogane stan 101 @ffff_everything** THIS KILLS THE MAN **RT: @DailyMail** “Lance McClain unveils risque Olympic rings tattoo after gold medal win - DailyMail.co.uk”

 **kogane stan 101 @ffff_everything** lrt can’t believe i just RT’d the daily mail but this is IMPORTANT sacrifices MUST BE MADE

 **hey it’s jj @avolleyofbirbs** @ffff_everything takemetochurch.mp3

 **star child @lellyphant** @ffff_everything he said he was gonna do it if he won gold right???

 **kogane stan 101 @ffff_everything** @lellyphant he did!!! It’s the same interview he talks about keith B)

 **kogane stan 101 @ffff_everything** @lellyphant here: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2016/06/13/lance-mcclain-is-gunning-for-gold

 

Lance McClain laughed off concerns about his performance in the 400m Men’s Freestyle heats this week. Given he qualified for the final with one of the top six times, you can hardly fault him for confidence. But the nineteen-year-old Cuban swimmer, who came out as bisexual this year via Twitter, is far from resting on his laurels. Two reasons: the first, that his mother, who McClain is reportedly close to, will “kill me if I get a tattoo, but if I get a gold, she can’t complain about it.” He’s after one of the famous Olympic rings tattoos many of his fellow swimmers get, preferably on his left hip. The second? McClain’s sharing a floor in the Village with fellow champions: notably, Pidge Gunderson, the German gold medallist for archery; Takashi Shirogane, a three-time gold medallist for the Men’s 1500m, Hunk Ka’uhane, the gold medallist for weights, and Keith Kogane, the seventeen-year-old openly gay gold medallist and gymnast.

“I’m the only one left on the floor without a gold,” Lance said to us. “It sucks. Keith won’t let me live it down.” Then he smiled.   

“Let’s see his face if I win next Monday,” he laughed.

**_Extract from ‘Lance McClain is gunning for gold’, Pink News._ **

 

**hellosailor:**

guys, friendly reminder that if you’re gonna ship REAL PEOPLE you don’t go up to them in REAL LIFE and ask about it that’s WEIRD you’re making us all look bad

#can’t believe i have to say this #in the year of our lord 2016 #yes this is at the keith/lance stans #it’s at you #this is why we can’t have nice things

**5678 notes**

 

**fuckyeahkeithkogane:**

You’re close with some of your fellow competitors from Rio, aren’t you?

**Yeah. They’re great guys. They’re the sort of people you want to make proud. [x]**

#i’m not crying ur crying #for real tho these guys were the cutest part of the olympics coverage imo #keith kogane #LOOK AT HIM!!! MAKING FRIENDS!!! #hannah cries over gymnastics

**679 notes**

 

**thevoidhatesyouback:**

**anon: hey i was wondering who the guy in those photosets you keep reblogging is?? I haven’t heard of him??? sorry if this is weird!!**

**thevoidhatesyouback:**

Hey anon!!! That’s not weird at all!! So, I don’t know which photosets you’re referring to but I’m guessing it must be either these or these. The first ones are Keith Kogane! He’s a gymnast competing with the US National Team. He’s only seventeen and he does a lot of LGBT advocacy work, including a lot of hours volunteering with Get Out, a charity that empowers young LGBT people from lower-income backgrounds to get into sports. Also, look at him. What a cutie.

The second ones are Lance McClain! He’s nineteen too - they’re SO YOUNG - and he’s the current holder of the world record for the Men’s 400m Freestyle and a swimmer for the Cuban national team. They both won medals at Rio, they’re both openly LGBT (Keith is gay and Lance is....bi, I think?) and they’re friends irl!! A lot of people ship them, too, but that’s not my scene (just because....RPF isn’t for me). Their twitters are here and here. Hope that helps!   

#sports blogging #keith kogane #lance mcclain #anon #ask kath #queue along my wayward son

**20 notes**

 

 **Keith Kogane** **@** **keithkogane** "are u srsly training today" why wouldn't I train today

 **Pidge Gunderson** **@** **pgunderson** @keithkogane HAPPY ADULTHOOD DAY U LOSER

 **Lance McClain** **@** **lance** **-mcclain** @keithkogane buddy that's the saddest thing you've ever said

 **Keith Kogane** **@** **keithkogane** @lance-mcclain some of us want a 2nd medal lance

 **Pidge Gunderson** **@** **pgunderson** @keithkogane @lance-mcclain my night twitter would be so empty without u two

 

Lance McClain (1996 -)  is a Cuban professional swimmer from Varadero, Cuba. As of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, he is an Olympic silver medallist in the Men's 200m Freestyle and a gold medallist in the Men's 400m Freestyle. He is the current holder of the Men's 400m Freestyle world record with a time of 3:38:52,  nearly a second faster than the previous record. He lives in Havana, Cuba.  
  
Early life  
Professional Achievements  
Personal life  
Charity work

 

 **no @heckthis94** is anyone else creeped out by this? I'm creeped out by this **RT:**   **@entertainmentdaily** "Teen sweetheart Keith Kogane turns 18"

 **help me hajime** **@** **hajime** **.ebooks** @heckthis94 y E a h oh my god

 

America's golden boy is all grown up - OKMAG.com 

Ten Twinks Under Twenty - boysmag.nz

Keith Kogane turns 18; Internet collectively loses their minds - Buzzfeed.com 

What the Keith Kogane phenomenon should tell us about gay representation in athletics -  Medium.com 

Too Young to Handle the Pressure?: 11 Athletes Famous Before They Could Go To Vegas -  hellomag.com 

Good morning Internet, your current boy crush just grew up - sportsgossipdaily.com 

Teenage Dream: Keith Kogane Celebrates Birthday, Still Doesn't Skip Leg Day -  teenvogue.com 

The eroticisation of gay athletes isn't anything new. It's just gone mainstream -  Guardian.co.uk 

10 Boys We Really Don't Want To Be Gay -  glamourmagazine.co.uk 

Congratulations, sports nerds: the cutest gay in the Village just came of age -  pinknews.de 

 

keith kogane  
keith kogane **gay** **  
**keith kogane **gymnast** **  
**keith kogane **boyfriend** **  
** keith kogane **grindr**

 

Keith Kogane  (1998 - ) is an American artistic gymnast from San Francisco, California . He is an  Olympic  gold medallist in the Men's  Horizontal Bar  , which is his main competitive event apart from floorwork. He drew international attention after qualifying for the  Rio 2016 Games  when he was sixteen and for winning his first medal at seventeen. He is openly gay and involved in LGBT advocacy work. He lives in San Francisco, California.

 

Early life  
2016 Olympics  
National records  
Personal life  
Charity work

 

Personal life   
  
As of 2016, Kogane is single. [12]

 


	2. 2016/2017

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith is 18 as of this chapter. There's a reference to transphobia (exclusion from a sports facility). To ignore, go from “It’s scary,” Lance says softly, “The way they look at you.” to "There's a brief silence," and you're good. Lance also takes about not being able to/allowed to eat things from a nutritional perspective. To skip, go from "He opens the fridge," to "“Wow,” Keith retorts", and again from "Lance takes another bite of pizza," to the end of the piece.

 

18:31 / Unknown: hey. Shiro said you wanted my number?

18:31: hi keith!!! Yeah,,,,,how are you??  

18:32 / Keith (US): did you want something?

18:33: wow. Straight on to it

18:33: Well. “straight”

18:34 / Keith (US): i saw you made it to the world championships. Congratulations

18:35: same to you

18:35 / Keith (US): is that....a sunflower emoji

18:35: sure is

18:36: okay,,,,, so i may be way out of my lane here

18:36 / Keith (US): that wouldn’t be new

18:37 / Keith (US): but keep going

18:37: just wanted to say it’s ok to feel weird abt all those “all grown up” articles

18:39 / Keith (US): why would i feel weird

18:39: cool

18:39: i felt weird as shit tho. when it happened to me i mean. So i’m js

18:43 / Keith (US): there was a photographer outside of practise today

18:43 / Keith (US): they followed me to my car

18:43: wTF ARE YOU OKAY

18:44 / Keith (US): i’m fine lance

18:45 / Keith (US): thanks for asking

18:45: awwww you say the sweetest things

  
Following: 190  
Followers: 34789

Posts: 1450  
  
**Lance McClain**  
no i don't wear the medal in bed

_4 days ago_

Havana, Cuba

 

[X]

 

It's 4am have mercy nyma @noturbabe  
**4560 likes**  
@babygirl @ghoulkid WHO EVEN LOOKS THIS GOOD AT 4AM??  
@kevinlafontaine I'm gay  
@67dril hey @lancemcclain so are you dating nyma again??

@callmececil <33333

@noturbabe @lancemcclain @67dril he wishes

 

_17 hours ago_

  
Havana, Cuba

 

  
[x]

 

I think @keithkogane's smile was surgically removed at birth  
**8900 likes**

@vivavino @lilmonster I LOVE THEM?????

@pidgeathon keith??? is in??? cuba??

@lancemcclain @pidgeathon nah I got a cardboard cutout off eBay. Same difference

@keithkogane @lancemcclain @pidgeathon yes I'm in Havana. Ignore Lance he wants his mom to think he has friends

@lancemcclain @keithkogane oh my god. You know what friends are. BABE I'M SO PROUD

@beestho pls just date already

 

Following: 6  
Followers: 60009

  
Posts: 11  
  
**Keith Kogane**  
Gold medallist (Men's Gymnastics) - Rio 2016 Olympics. Sponsored by Adidas.   
  
_13 hours ago_

Havana, Cuba

 

  
[X]

 

Lance made us climb all the way up here to see this. It's 6am. The sun comes up every day. Why are we here  
**10081 likes**

@69babe1 @huntress WHAT THE NAME OF SWEET FUCKERY IS THIS

@jkjk @damienmerceau THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I MEANT EAELIER

@jkjk @damienmerceau *EARLIER

@qtpiehyuna I love you hi from the UK!!

@carabin so.....that's pretty gay

@silvertails ugh

 

**let me live** **@** **songcry** **@** **lance** **-mcclain** honestly what do you have to say for yourself  http://www.Google.image.txt/lance-mcclain-dhdc567.html

**Lance McClain** **@** **lance** **-mcclain** @songcry ....it's for charity?

 

**Lance McClain** **@** **lance** **-mcclain** no good deed goes unpunished **RT: @sparkleemoji “** I'M GOING TO FIGHT HIM JFC LOOK AT THIS MAN”

**Lance McClain** **@** **lance** **-mcclain** hunk and I are holding a Google live hangout with @Nike RIGHT NOW <http://bit.ly/5673gtyh.html>

 

Get in line, ladies: a bunch of male Olympians are doing a charity calendar - youmag.com 

 

Shiro

shiro

Shiro

shiro

SHIRO I CAN TELL YOU'RE SEEING THESE IT SAYS

DON'T MAKE ME COME OVER THERE

_yes hello_

_Did it arrive then_

TAKE IT BACK

_"Thanks Shiro"_

fuck off shiro

_[seen 16:50]_

 

**Pidge Gunderson, Hunk Ka'uhune, Takashi Shirogane**

 

Hunk: guys we need to call this smth that's not suspicious

 

**Pidge Gunderson** _renamed the chat "something not suspicious"_

 

Hunk: wow yeah that helps

 

3:21/ Keith: is august your birthday then

4:30: morning!! sry i wasn’t ignoring u i was asleep!! Also nah :D my birthday’s next week actually

4:31 / Keith: oh cool. Happy birthday for next week

4:32: thanks!!! What did you think of august then

4:45: keith? Dude dw i was jk

4:48 / Keith: my birthday’s august actually

4:48: yeah i know

 

keith kogane

keith kogane **lance mcclain**

keith kogane **world championships**

keith kogane **instagram**

keith kogane **wikipedia**

 

**Lance McClain @lance-mcclain** someone looks happy **RT: @SportsNewsDaily** “Keith Kogane attends charity event, wins award for Sportsperson of the Year - SportsNewsDaily.com”

**Keith Kogane @keithkogane** @lance-mcclain  shut up

**Lance McClain @lance-mcclain** @keithkogane nice suit

 

(B)romance? Keith Kogane and Lance McClain are the new hottest ticket in town - Buzzfeed.com 

The Ship Has Sailed: Everyone’s into the cutest sports bros since forever - medaily.com 

 

**wxlkaway:**

**holdthephone** asked: hey!! I was wondering if you knew why we never seem to see keith on any of the Nike live chats but we get lots of lance??? Not that i’m complaining about that lol

**wxlkaway** answered:

i mean, keith isn’t represented by Nike but i think you’re probably asking more widely about why lance’s media presence is much more visible vs keith’s. Athletes rely on sponsorship for funding, after all.  i think if i had to make a rough guess, my theory is it’s.....who they are as people tbh. keith has openly said he doesn’t like interviews and he seems pretty?? introverted in his day to day life. come on, the boy only follows 6 instagrams.

#in comparison to lance #i feel like if nike put him on any more posters they’re gonna run out of paper #i love it #lance mcclain #keith kogane #sports for gina #sports blogging #ask jen

**89 notes**

 

**Get Out @GetOutOrg** Watch Get Out advocate @keithkogane’s acceptance speech for Sportsperson of the Year via @YouTube youtube.com/watch?v=YeINWQDg7zg

**Get Out @GetOutOrg** “I don’t think an award is enough when I’m the only one standing here right now.” - @keithkogane  

**Get Out @GetOutOrg** @keithkogane dedicates award to other LGBT athletes

**[softly] @kassandra78** “people are gonna tell you it’s luck if you get there. it’s not. you worked for it. you didn’t get lucky. you deserve this” i’m crying @keithkogane

**insert good thoughts @yousayokay** why are people crying over kogane’s speech. He’d written it all down. It took him like 30 seconds. Boy’s not exactly running for senate

**Lafontaine 4 life @plainjane99** @yousayokay shut the fuck up

**Takashi Shirogane @shirotakashi** Proud of you @keithkogane **RT: @GetOutOrg** “Watch Get Out advocate @keithkogane’s acceptance speech for Sportsperson of the Year via @YouTube youtube.com/watc....”

**Lance McClain @lance-mcclain** PLS **RT: @plainjane99 “** @yousayokay shut the fuck up”

**Lance McClain @lance-mcclain** get to where @keithkogane has in his field and then you can get back to me n talk trash. i’ll be waiting

 

9:17 / Keith: how are u even real

9:17: that’s my line

 

**Mimi!! @meemster** lance mcclain clapbacking the masses over keith kogane cleared my skin #justbrosbeingbros

 

_McClain leans back and laughs when we bring up the topic of the rumours._

_“Wow,” is all he says. “That’s a thing, I guess.”_

**_Extract from “Hello Sailor: Glamour Magazine sits down with Lance McClain”, glamourmagazine.com_**

 

**@SportsNewsDaily** @AdidasOfficial lose rising star Keith Kogane as he signs new sponsorship contract with @Nike - SportsNewsDaily.com

****

**Ivklance:**

anyone else notice that keith’s switched sponsors to the same one as lance??

#eyes emoji #i’m just sayin #gymnastics tag for lana #personal

**5 notes**

****

**itsclara:**

Can y’all stop making this into smth it’s not tbh?? athletes change sponsors all the time. Nike probably outbid adidas or offered to donate to his charities or smth  

#y’all know what i’m talking about here right #keith kogane #sports tag #clara rants #queue queue queue

**12 notes**

****

**little talks @nettatalks** tfw ur sanfran homeboy snags a big $$ endorsement deal and the kid still doesn’t smile for the camera

****

**Lance McClain** [ **@** **lance** ](https://twitter.com/lance) **-mcclain** surgically removed at birth. We're doing what we can **RT: @nettatalks** "tfw ur sanfran homeboy snags a big $$ endorsement deal and the kid still doesn’t smile for the camera"

**holly @ AUSCON ‘16 @hollydraws** srsly tho who runs @lance-mcclain’s twitter it’s priceless

**Lance McClain @lance-mcclain** @hollydraws i do. They keep trying to change the password tho

**Takashi Shirogane @shirotakashi** @lance-mcclain I don’t blame them

**Lance McClain @lance-mcclain** @shirotakashi YOU’RE NOT MY DAD SHIRO

****

**Keith Kogane**

Gold medallist (Men's Gymnastics) - Rio 2016 Olympics. Sponsored by Nike.

_3 days ago_

San Francisco, California

****

[x]

****

New routine

**11890 likes**

_view 3602 other comments..._

@ljgrayson NOICE

****

**gays in space @spacegay1789** GUESS WHO’S IN LINE FOR THE MEET  & GREET GUYS

**hey it’s jj @avolleyofbirbs** my girlfriend is the cutest girlfriend all other girlfriends need to go home **RT:  @spacegay1789** “GUESS WHO’S IN LINE FOR THE MEET & GREET GUYS”

**gays in space @spacegay1789 @avolleyofbirbs** oh my god ;A;

**hey it’s jj @avolleyofbirbs @spacegay1789** i mean it!!! Just don’t forget all about me as soon as you see your husband ok :’)

**gays in space @spacegay1789** the queue is so long omfg. Idk what i expected tbh

**gays in space @spacegay1789** MADE IT INSIDE AT LAST, THANK U SWEET JESUS

**gays in space @spacegay1789** oh my god oghutrbhj hohhgmy jh lf ms

**star child @lellyphant** @spacegay1789 HOLY SHIT

**gays in space @spacegay1789** HE WAS SO NICE I’M STILL SHAKIGN

**hey it’s jj @avolleyofbirbs** when ur gymnast gf meets her gymnast bf and ur not even mad. she nearly cried on skype to me guys. It’s so cute she’s so cute i’m so

**hey it’s jj @avolleyofbirbs @s-i-m-f** I K NOW

****

You have (1) missed call: _Keith_

You have (2) missed calls: _Keith_

1:31: you called?

1:32 / Keith: yeah

1:32 / Keith: sorry

1:32 / Keith: i forgot what time it was there

1:33: you okay?

1:35: keith

1:35 / Keith: i had a weird day

1:35: good weird or bad weird

1:37: come on buddy i can’t read you from here

1:37 / Keith: do you ever keep waiting to get caught out

1:38 / Keith: like. Do you ever keep thinking one day someone’s gonna see it

1:38 / Keith: that you’re just. Like

1:38 / Keith: nvm

1:38: gimme a sec

1:39 / Keith: lance no wait

1:39 / Keith: lance what are you doing

1:39 / Keith: lance

1:40: that’s my name baby don’t wear it out

1:40 / Keith: I KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS THERE LANCE MCCLAIN DON’T

_Calling: Keith (+5314156789)...._

*

“You’re an asshole,” Keith says, the minute he picks up. Lance smiles and stretches for a second. The weight of his body against the bed, the weight of the night outside and the sounds of Havana traffic from the outflung window, the weight of Keith’s voice: all of them register as liquid.

“What are you wearing?” Lance asks, and laughs outright at Keith’s startled-slash-horrified noise. “No, seriously. I’m an asshole, but not that much of one. You’re, like, freaking out over there over something. What’s up?”

He sits up and heads through the half-dark of his apartment to the window, trips on his own belt and rights himself quickly. After years of listening to rants and chore charts, having the space to drop his shit is a luxury, and Lance always takes an inch and runs a mile with it, keeps going over border lines until he’s halfway to his own doorstep without looking back. Don’t look back, McClain, they said at sixteen, his last day at the school in Varadero. Yeah, keep fucking walking. Don’t look back, Lance, his coach said to him at seventeen, first time in the Men’s Senior Division. You don’t look back, kid. It’s just you out there. Fuck everyone else. It’s just you, you hear me?

He closes his eyes and listens to Keith’s silence, listens to Keith wrangling for the right words three hours behind him in California, and Lance is twenty, and he tells himself this isn’t the same as looking back. Don’t look back, McClain.  

He says, “Did something happen at your thing?”

Keith sighs, and it sounds like a puncture wound, sounds like broken bicycle tires from Lance’s childhood. He bites his tongue. Boys in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.  Fuck everyone else. He says, “Keith.”

“You should be asleep,” Keith says finally. “It’s late.”

“I’m older than you,” Lance replies, and Keith snaps back, “Yeah, I know,” and Lance smiles and bites down on it and watches a couple on the backstreet his window looks out onto take a shortcut, laughing and swinging interlinked hands.

“It went really well,” Keith admits slowly.

“Sure. Sounds like it.”

“Fuck off, Lance. It’s just -”

The girl in the backstreet leans her face up, heels hanging by the straps from one outstretched hand where the light hits her. Lance blinks at them kissing for a good thirty seconds before he really registers what he’s seeing - hooked on the static and the way Keith swallows, uncertain - and walks away from the window, picking his way to the kitchen.  

“There were a lot of gay kids there today,” Keith tells him, and Lance thought it might be this. He leans against the doorframe, watching the lights from traffic ripple across the countertop, and says, “Yeah. I’ve been there.”

“What do you even say to them,” Keith suddenly blurts, “Lance, there was this gymnast, okay, and. You know. I don’t even know if she’s good. I don’t know if she’s any fucking good, but she told me thank you. I don’t know her, Lance. I don’t know this girl.”

“She knows you,” Lance says and Keith cuts across him impatiently.

“No, she doesn’t. She has no idea who - I don’t know what to do when they say thank you. Like, she’s so much more than I was. I wasn’t - I just - I’m fucking eighteen, Lance. We’re only three years apart. What the fuck do I say to her?”  

“It’s scary,” Lance says softly, “The way they look at you.”

“And there was this one guy, okay, and his gym won’t let him practise there since he changed his name, and he’s still doing it anyway? He’s doing it in his backyard with a kids’ trampoline. Lance, I always had a crash mat. What, am I supposed to tell him it’s easier, it’s all right, you’ll still get sponsorships? It’s easier, it’s all right, fuck them? I had a crash mat, Lance.”    

There’s a brief silence; breathing; Lance imagines the anger draining out of Keith.

“I’m not cut out to be some kid’s hero,” Keith says.

“What,” Lance replies, “You think they’re not seeing a gay kid from California win shit and seeing themselves?”

“A gay kid with no high school diploma,” Keith adds, and it’s half-wry and half-genuine, and Lance wants to reach down the phone and shake him. He settles for pressing the heel of one hand against his eyes, watches the colours bleed into one another. Everyone who writes that it’s dark when you close your eyes is lying. When you close your eyes, it’s not dark. It’s colour. It’s all in colour.

“There wasn’t a single male swimmer from Cuba who’d won in years before I did, you know,” Lance begins, slow, pulling the words out of somewhere soft and enclosed in his chest. “And afterwards, after the qualifier, I kept getting letters. I read through every DM I got on Twitter. I read all of it. And I kept waiting for them to realise. That I didn’t know anything they didn’t. That the world kicks you, and sometimes you can grab onto that and use it as leverage to pull yourself up, and sometimes you can’t. That all I’d wanted was to, fuck, I don’t know, win something and go home.”

“Yeah,” Keith says quietly.

“That’s why, though,” Lance says, “You don’t have to -- Keith, sometimes, you just want to know there’s someone else out there who everyone wanted to lose. And then they didn’t. You just want to know that there was someone who didn’t.”

“I didn’t have anyone like that,” Keith says, very quietly.

“Same,” Lance says, and the moment stretches, large and unspeakable. Nobody tells you that being a trailblazer means, by the very semantics of the word, playing with fire. You try not to get burnt, and you hide it when you do, and you keep lighting the path, half-hoping and half-fearing the tread of footsteps after. “Look, you’re doing great, okay? I bet you made a bunch of kids wet their tights today.”

Keith laughs, sudden and sharp, before he remembers not to.

“They’re not tights, Lance,” he says, and Lance can hear him smiling, and he lets out a breath coiled somewhere, in the soft enclosed space he just carved back open. He rubs his eyes with the back of his hand and heads to the fridge.

“Kogane,” Lance says, “Keith, pumpkin, cupcake. They’re tights.”

“Like, half the time.”

“I’m only gay half the time,” Lance says, “That doesn’t make it less gay when I’m being gay.”

He opens the fridge and grabs some cold pizza, the sort he definitely shouldn’t be eating and is totally eating secretly anyway.

“Wow,” Keith retorts dryly, “Bisexual advocate Lance McClain speaks out. You’re always so nuanced compared to your interviews.”

“Nice of you to read my interviews.”

There’s a pause, and Lance briefly wonders if he should take it back, and then Keith sighs again.

“You could play a drinking game with them. Drink every time they say “flirtatious” as code for being, well -”

“Better than drink every time they say “brooding” as code for moody.”

Lance shuts the fridge door, and the lack of light blinds him for a second. He blinks to adjust, tearing into the pizza and nearly walking into the countertop on his way to the balcony.

“You,” Keith stumbles, “You read my interviews.”

“Yeah,” Lance admits, because why the fuck not, he’s too tired to care. “All three of them you’ve ever given.”

He’ll regret this in the morning, but Lance rolls with it.

“I’ve given more than three interviews,” Keith protests. “And you’re more than half gay.”

“Gender preference is valid and doesn’t undermine bisexuality,” Lance parrots, and Keith goes, “I know.”

“It’s okay, it's all for you, babe,” Lance retorts, “Didn’t you read the last interview?”

He settles into the balcony’s cheap plastic chair, puts his bare feet up on the rail.

“I always thought,” Keith replies after a beat, “A torrid gay romance would be more, you know, physically affecting.”

“Oh, fuck you,” Lance says, sitting upwards indignantly. Keith laughs down the phone.

The couple are gone. The traffic winds its away towards the horizon. Lance takes another bite of pizza, one in a long list of things he's not supposed to have, and they stay talking until morning.

 

 *

 

**junebug:**

_Anon asked_ : is it tru keith kogane just bought a trans kid membership to a gym?? holy shit 

_junebug says_ : IT IS. i mean, technically, he  reached out through his charity networks , but it got leaked and apparently he was the one who brought it to their attention?? apparently he met a trans male gymnast called logan at a meet n greet or smth?? logan’s tumblr is **@orionsbelt** and  there’s a  whole post on it there

#keith kogane #ask me things #i don’t know what queue want from me 

**340 notes**


	3. 2017

 

 _Montreal Fever: US Gymnasts set to take on Canada in this year’s World Artistic Gymnastics Championships_ \-  nbcnews.com 

_Tickets on sale now for World Cup of Gymnastics 2017_ \-  britishgymnastics.org 

_Hungary for more? 2017 World Aquatics Championships are heating up this July_ \-  SportsGossip.com

 

 **Keith Kogane @keithkogane RT:** @NBCNews “Keith Kogane qualifies for World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Events - nbcnews.com”

 

_...the World Cup of Gymnastics sees the world’s best gymnasts invited to compete in the prestigious ‘all-around’ competition with the men battling it out over six testing apparatus (floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and the high bar) and the women competing on vault, uneven bars, beam and floor...._

**Extract from British Gymnastics Organisation website.**

 

 **tired of ur shit @levkun** ok but??? Is it confirmed that keith’s gonna be at this world cup thing?? No offence but i didn’t know he was even TRAINED on al of these

 **Hellraiser @nnnnnnno** @levkun i guess he must be?

 

 **Lance McClain @lance-mcclain** GOOD MORNING KIDS LET’S GET OUR TICKET TO BUDAPEST SORTED THEN

 

 **Lance McClain @lance-mcclain** i hate overachievers **RT: @SportsNewsDaily** “Keith Kogane confirmed for six-event World Cup in London this April”

 

 **Keith Kogane @keithkogane** @lance-mcclain try and keep up

 

 _Lance McClain qualifies for 2017 FINA Championships 200m, 400m_ \-  sportsmag.nz 

_Lance McClain makes personal best time on 200m -_ swimmingdaily.aus 

_We’re over the Olympics, but not over Lance McClain -_ Buzzfeed.com 

 

 **Lance McClain @lance-mcclain** careful there @keithkogane. wouldn’t want you getting left behind

 

**something not suspicious (3 people)**

 

Shiro: ok guys allura says we should give them space??

Pidge: they have 2,872 miles of space shiro!!!!!

Pidge: THEY HAVE THE GULF OF MEXCO

Pidge: *MEXICO

Pidge: ilu allura but that’s  ???? they’ve already??? THEY HAVE THE GUL OF MEXICO

Pidge: *GULF

Pidge: what more do they need god i hate boys  

Shiro: allura says same

Pidge: tell allura to get fb i need her

Hunk: Guys can we please change the group name already

Hunk: Lance is visiting me n Shay and i s2g he’s onto us

Pidge: you’re giving lance a shocking level of credit there if you ask me

Hunk: P L E A S E

Pidge: F I  N E

 **Pidge Gunderson**   _renamed the chat “LANCE DON’T LOOK”_

Hunk: well, at least I know you’re fucking with me deliberately now

 

8:20 / Coach: what’s it worth?

8:20: MY FIRSTBORN

8:21 / Coach: mcclain i don’t want your kid anywhere near me

8:21 / Coach: one of you has been enough

8:22: :(((((((

8:22 / Coach: don’t try it

8:22: :(((((((((((((((((((((((((

8:23 / Coach: you’re mine until AT LEAST august after this

8:23: OKAY

8:23: I’M YOURS UNTIL AT LEAST AUGUST

8:24 / Coach: I OWN you until after FINA

8:24: tysm!!!!

8:24 / Coach: don’t thank me

8:25 / Coach: i’ll remind you of this in june and laugh

8:25 / Coach: that’s it that’s my reward

8:25: hard bargain but i’ll take it

 

 **why @yysugoi** GUYS LOOK WHO I JUST SAW IN SFO

 **lucy!! @opopay** @yysugoi OH MY GOD HE’S SO???

 **lucy!! @opopay** @yysugoi HE TOL

 **jojo stole my soul @BIZARRO** @yysugoi i’m sCREAMING i am SC R E A M

 **why @yysugoi** @opopay @BIZARRO he has the cutest laugh and i’m dead now bye

 

15:34 / Keith: where are you?

15:35: got stuck in border control

15:35: don’t worry, u’ll c my beautiful face soon enough B)

15:35 / Keith: are u gonna want coffee

15:36: is that a real question

15:36: are u gna be wearing smth with no holes in it

15:37 / Keith: is THAT a real question

 

**fuckyeahlancemcclain:**

[x]

_Lance McClain, 16th March 2017, San Francisco._

_#i love him #swimming husband #is that a free shirt? #fuck this man honestly #where keith tho_

**6890 notes**

 

**bb8-bblate:**

Friendly reminder to if you see your Faves irl and in public, not to ask them if they’re dating. Come on, fandom. We’re better than this.

#psa #like for real #not cool fam

**1162 notes**

 

 **Lance McClain @lance-mcclain** when @Nike pay for ur hotel room #nice

 

 **Lance McClain @lance-mcclain** Google Hangout with @keithkogane 03/19 15:00 PT! B THERE OR B SQUARE

 

 **Pidge Gunderson @pidgegunderson** @lance-mcclain ok but how did you convince him to do that

 

 **Lance McClain @lance-mcclain** @pidgegunderson i didn’t, his sponsors did. they’re slowly dragging him into the light

 

 **Lance McClain @lance-mcclain** @pidgegunderson hope he doesn’t set on fire

 

 **Pidge Gunderson @pidgegunderson** @lance-mcclain  >:)))))))))))))))

 

 **Keith Kogane @keithkogane** @pidgegunderson @lance-mcclain you guys know i can see this right

 

*

 

Sunlight looks good on Keith, even when he’s scowling. He stands in the midst of San Francisco, a city he fits in like Lance knows he does in Varadero; stands there with his beautiful dumb mouth and his eyes and everything and nothing and he _sighs._

“Really, Lance?” Keith sounds scathing. His eyes linger when he gives what is supposed to be a dismissive once-over. Lance feels the drag of them. “It’s March.”

“When I was a kid, my first training pool was unheated,” Lance replies, unrepentant in his shirt, no jacket. “Except for, you know, winter, when the heated pool opened for the season. You get used to it.”

Keith looks unconvinced. Lance takes another obnoxious slurp of iced tea and sticks his tongue out at him.

“Where to next,” Lance says, half-mocking, half-genuine.

“What makes you think we’re going anywhere,” Keith retorts, deadpan. He doesn’t look away when Lance grins at him; he doesn’t grin back, but his eyes are careful and dark.

“Trust me,” Lance says. He licks the taste of mint off his own lips. “I know you. We’re going somewhere.”

 

*

 

 **Lance McClain**  
no i don't wear the medal in bed  
  
[X]

_1 hour ago_

San Francisco, California

LOOK AT THIS FANCY HOTEL ROOM??? LOOK AT ALL THIS FREE COFFEE??? LOOK HOW @keithkogane IS RUNNING LATE AND NOT HERE YET??

**2000 likes**

_view 365 comments_

@babygirl96 <333333333333

@jdrak89 gay

@noodlebug SO EXCITED FOR THE STREAM!! Dw it’ll be worth the wait :DDDD

 

 **Lance McClain @lance-mcclain** SORRY FOR THE DELAY! sOMEONE got stuck in afternoon traffic. we’re LIVE now with Google Hangouts  & @Nike here: bit.ly/61301.html 

 

*****

 

After Lance hits the close button on the Hangouts, smiling all the time, he leans back and closes his eyes for a second - just for a second, just for some breathing space - before opening his eyes again and leaning back on the bed to call to the rep - some blonde twentysomething who’d dropped by towards the end.

“That work for you?”

She nods, smiling. Lance immediately grins in echo. It’s habit, it’s muscle memory. He salutes her lazily and she laughs, her face lighting up.

“Sweet,” he says, and flicks Keith a look that says: _hey._ Keith stares at his hands for a moment and then actually bothers to make eye contact with the rep for the next twenty minutes whilst she chatters to Lance - and ostensibly also Keith - about some new advertisement in a few months’ time. Keith, Lance can tell, isn’t really listening. He watches Lance out of the corners of his eyes, restless, and Lance remembers suddenly that one video of Keith before he walked out onto the floor at seventeen in Rio. _Are you nervous? No._ He remembers how Keith doesn’t do looking back.

The rep leaves, and the click of the door is loud. It breaks something somehow. Keith wrenches his eyes away and says, “I should, uh -”

“Sure,” Lance replies.

“I should go. You’re tired. I guess. You’re tired, right?”

“Not really.”  

Keith stands there, looking at Lance, a little caught, a little helpless. Sometimes, Lance forgets how young Keith is; because Keith is a powerhouse, because Keith makes it easy to, because Keith wants you to. Because Keith Kogane desperately wants to be taken seriously.

“I’m going to go,” Keith says again,  and turns for the door. Lance watches the black-clad compact of his back, the set of his shoulders.

He stands up from the bed. It’s like being fifteen again, with how he feels too tall.

“Don’t.” His voice is softer than he planned. Keith’s hand pauses, outstretched, for a single slow moment, before he lets it fall and turns back around.  

When Lance was a child, his mother told him she met his father when she was travelling. _I was just passing through,_ she always said, whilst his father looked over from the oven and smiled at her with half the sky in his eyes. _I was just passing through, and then there he was. Like something you don’t see coming. Something all the red lights in the world couldn’t warn you in case of. I saw him and I just - drove off the road._ And she’d smile.  

When Lance was eighteen, he’d said _I want to be brave._ His sister said _you already are._

“Don’t,” Lance says again. He clears the space between them in two strides. Watching Keith look up at him gives him that same feeling - of being too tall, being unstable somehow. “You don’t - I’m cool with you staying.”

He reaches out and grabs hold of Keith’s wrist, drags his thumb across the pulse point there. Keith’s skin is warm. His eyes widen for an immeasurable second, then narrow. He tilts his head further back and smirks.

“Do you need help figuring out what happens next?” he taunts, so Lance kisses him. It might be the gentlest he’s ever kissed someone, he thinks; more to do with how he knows all the myriad ways he could ruin this and them with it, less to do with how long he’s been thinking about this, more to do with the faint familiar terror thrumming through him. He doesn’t kiss Keith long enough to let it deepen, pulls back and swallows, hard. Keith’s eyelids flutter; he bites his own lip; Lance feels it go through him.

“You stopped,” Keith says, sounding annoyed.

“Sor --” Lance starts and doesn’t finish, because Keith rolls his eyes impatiently, hooks one hand in the  neckline of Lance’s shirt, and drags him back down to Earth. If Lance makes a noise like he’s dying when Keith furiously licks into his mouth, then on the one hand, he’s gonna deny it - it’s his word against Keith’s - on the other hand, who even cares?  

“I like you,” Lance drags himself away again to say, “I really - I _really_ like you.”

“Yeah,” Keith retorts. “I got that, I’m not stupid, holy shit -”   

*****

 

**olanyx:**

[x]

#gif warning #lance mcclain #keith kogane #honestly tho their google hangout was priceless?? #and so cute??? #keith LAUGHED #like #a lot #i’m so #my sons

**8835 notes**

 

**Takashi Shirogane, Keith Kogane:**

Shiro: keith are you alive

Shiro: keith. It’s been two days

Shiro: keith

Keith: i’m alive

Keith: i don’t know how, but i’m alive

Shiro: are you okay???

Keith: i’m so okay

Keith: he kissed me

Shiro: ok so suddenly

Shiro: keep the details on the dl

Keith: sure

Shiro: i’m happy for you

Shiro: just

Keith: no it’s cool

Keith: i wasn’t gonna tell you anyway

Keith: i’m not lance

 

13:45 / Hunk: DUDE

13:45 / Hunk: I LOVE YOU BRO

13:46: I LOVE YOU TOO <33333

13:46 / Hunk: THEN STOP TALKING

13:47: i thought you loved me unconditionally

13:47 / Hunk: it turns out there are hard limits and all of them are called keith

13:48: HE’S SO HOT

13:48 / Hunk: GOOD FOR YOU

13:48: like srsly it was just

13:48 / Hunk: NO

13:48 / Hunk: LANCE NO

13:49 / Hunk: I CAN SEE YOU TYPING LANCE

13:49 / Hunk: LANCE MCCLAIN YOUR MOTHER BROUGHT YOU UP TO RESPECT BOUNDARIES

13:49: low blow dude

13:50: i mean fair

13:50: but below the belt

13:51 / Hunk: i’m beginning to wish you’d kept your belt on tbh

 

**LANCE DON’T LOOK (3 people)**

**Hunk Ka’uhane:** FINALLY

 **Pidge Gunderson:** F I N A L L Y

 

11:13 / Nyma: where are u??

11:15 / Nyma: u said u had BIG NEWS  

11:15 / Nyma: lance i got out of bed for this

11:15: omw!!

11:15 / Nyma: ur leaving me hanging :(

11:16: isn’t that my line

11:16 / Nyma: #memories

11:16: which, for so, so many reasons, should stay #memories

11:17 / Nyma: agreed

11:17 / Nyma: but also

11:17 / Nyma: ur face was fuckin hilarious

11:18: NO

11:18: THIS IS

11:18: WE SAID WE WERE GONNA PRETEND THAT NEVER HAPPENED

11:18 / Nyma: je ne regrette rien

11:18: FUCK YOU

11:19 / Nyma: ANCIENT HISTORY

11:19 / Nyma: ok but srsly is this about what i think it is

11:19:  :))))))))

 

**Takashi Shirogane, Lance McClain**

Takashi Shirogane: Hey Lance, how are you doing today?

Lance McClain: oh shit

Lance McClain: is this the shovel talk

Takashi Shirogane: It’s not the shovel talk?

Lance McClain: it’s totally the shovel talk

Takashi Shirogane: it’s maybe the shovel talk

Lance McClain: oh my fucking god

Takashi Shirogane: only a little, though!

Takashi Shirogane: First! Congratulations.

Lance McClain: dude, don’t use a full stop like that

Lance McClain: that’s ominous as shit

Lance McClain: dude

Lance McClain: buddy

Lance McClain: Shiro my guy

Lance McClain: can you get this over with then

Takashi Shirogane: Sorry, I’d forgotten what watching you flounder for a bit was like

Takashi Shirogane: better in person, but I’ll take it

Lance McClain: fuck

Lance McClain: look, okay

Lance McClain: i’m gonna be good to him i swear

Lance McClain: i WANT to be good to him

Takashi Shirogane: uh huh

Lance McClain: so

Lance McClain: yeah

Takashi Shirogane: Good to hear

Takashi Shirogane: Actually though, I was messaging to let you know Allura was dropping by to visit Shay and Hunk in a few months? She asked me to tell you?

Lance McClain: asjdsjfsdjk

Lance McClain: SHIRO

Takashi Shirogane: it’s nice to hear you express emotions so eloquently Lance

Lance McClain: DON’T TELL KEITH

 

5:30: i miss you 

7:23 / Keith <3: welcome to the club

 

 **Keith Kogane @keithkogane** made it out of Heathrow after the worst red-eye in my life #WorldCupofGymnastics

 

 **Keith Kogane @keithkogane** When you get lost in the middle of London looking for your hotel #whenwillthisdayend

 

 **Takashi Shirogane @shirotakashi** @keithkogane still lost?

 

 **Keith Kogane @keithkogane** @shirotakashi i found it eventually

 

Day 3 of the World Cup of Gymnastics’ Men’s Events Starts Today! - britishgymnastics.org 

 

 **NOAH CZERNY DESERVED BETTER @crowkidlet** HIRTTJHGNK VMBC TH IS D YTU JUST HA PEN CFND

 

 **NOAH CZERNY DESERVED BETTER @crowkidlet** SORRY IT’S SO BLURRY

 

 **wtf u want @nobodysbabe @crowkidlet** h O LY  S HIT

 

 **wtf u want @nobodysbabe @crowkidlet #** brosbeingbros

 

 **keira here @owlet** be a good bro. travel 1000s of miles to watch yr bro compete. stand in the stands and cheer for yr bro. kiss yr bro in front of the whole fuckin stadium  _justdoit.gif_

 

**fuckyeahkeithkogane:**

[x]

_Keith Kogane gains personal best score in Horizontal Bar event, World Cup of Gymnastics, London._

#sports boyfriends!!!!! #holy fuckaroni #this is not a drill #i repeat #THIS IS NOT A DRILL

**23987 notes**

 

**save-me-padme:**

[x]

#gif warning #guys??? #i’m crying???? #HE RUNS UP TO THE STANDS???? #he’s so tiny???? #HIS FEET ARE THE BOTTOM RUNG I CAN’T #keith kogane #lance mcclain #sports tag

**7910 notes**

 

 **sports trash @holytattooine** the mogane ship part of fandom tonight be like _flamingelmo.gif_

 

 **Brb Suffering @newberry** GUYS THEIR TWITTERS ARE SO SILENT. DID ANYONE EVEN KNOW LANCE WAS IN LONDON UNTIL TODAY. I’M NOT OKAY

 

19:38 / Mama: your grandmother wants to meet him

19:38: oh jesus

19:38 / Mama: don’t you oh jesus in front of me young man

19:38 / Mama: you should’ve thought of that  

19:39 / Mama: she told me to tell you she loves you

19:39: i love you all too

 

19:45 / Alex: AYYYYYYYYYY

19:45: calm down alex you’re like 12

19:45 / Alex: I’M 17 YOU PIECE OF SHIT

19:46: i will tell mama

19:46: she will get out the swear jar

19:46 / Alex: nobody’s scared of the swear jar except u

19:46 / Alex: cos ur weak as FUCK

19:47: screenshotted

19:47 / Alex: i can’t believe u have a boyfriend

19:47 / Alex: surely with ur winning personality u should’ve died alone

19:48: family resemblance hurts kid

19:48 / Alex: carla thinks he’s cute

19:48 / Alex: good luck @ christmas w that :)))))

19:49: DISOWNED

19:49 / Alex: imagine aunt val

19:50: I’M DELETING YOUR NUMBER

19:50: I’M NOT LETTING KEITH ANYWHERE NEAR ANY OF YOU

19:50 / Alex: :))))))))))))))))

 

_HW: Of course, last night’s World Cup of Gymnastics, hosted in London, heated up noticeably when Sanfran native Keith Kogane - who came in first place for the Horizontal Bar event with a personal best score - confirmed rumours of a relationship between him and fellow Olympian Lance McClain, it seems. Very succinctly too, it has to be said._

_LO: Yes. [laughing] Yes, I’d call that succinct._

_[both laughing]_

_HW: I mean, he didn’t win the competition overall but -_

_LO: He sure won something._

_[more laughter]_

**_Excerpt from KNBR 680 Radio Broadcast, April 2017._ **

 

**18th April, 2017**

**Keith Kogane, Lance McClain Confirm Relationship Rumours**

_Athletes have been in relationship as of earlier this year_

  
**San Francisco, CA: Today, Copernio of Garden Grove, California, on behalf of their client Keith Kogane, announced that Kogane is in a relationship with fellow Olympian Lance McClain as of March this year. McClain and Kogane met during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, with Kogane representing the National Team, and kept in touch since. Copernio representatives would like to state the relationship is a recent development, due to the difficulty and stress of maintaining a long-distance relationship whilst also maintaining the highly demanding commitments that come with being a professional athlete on the international stage. They wish to be the first to extend good wishes for Kogane and his partner, and hope others will choose to do so. They also hope that people will continue to respect Kogane’s private nature. Any queries regarding McClain or his statement may be directed to his own representatives, who should release a similar statement in due course.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The description of the World Cup of Gymnastics is real and taken from the actual website mentioned. Alex is Lance's brother, Carla is his 12 year old cousin. Aunt Val is Aunt Val and a force unto herself.


	4. 2017

Keith Kogane (1998 - ) is an American artistic gymnast from San Francisco, California. He is an Olympic gold medallist in the Men's Horizontal Bar, which is his main competitive event apart from floorwork. He drew international attention after qualifying for the Rio 2016 Games when he was sixteen and for winning his first medal at seventeen. He is openly gay and involved in LGBT advocacy work. He lives in San Francisco, California.

 

Early life   
2016 Olympics   
National records   
Personal life   
Charity work

 

Personal life   
  
As of 2017, Kogane is in a relationship with fellow Olympic medallist Lance McClain. [12] The couple released a statement in April 2017 to this effect [13] after meeting at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games . Kogane remains a resident of  San Francisco  ,  California .

 

LDR No Longer? Rumours Lance McClain in talks to switch to US National Team -  SportsGossip.co.uk 

Dissension in the ranks as Lance McClain reportedly offered place on US National Team -  SportsDaily.com 

Batting for both teams: the history of Cuban athletes in the USA -  Medium.com 

Lance McClain denies rumours of move to Team US -  HuffPost.com 

 

 **eva @jjholtz** ok guys where is everyone getting this idea lance is gonna move from

 **eva @jjholtz** like, srsly. am i missing something???

 **little talks @nettatalks** @jjholtz u n me both tbh

 **(gay) @memester** @nettatalks @jjholtz there’s literally like 0 reason for it apart from The Obvious

 **(gay) @memester** @nettatalks @jjholtz there’s probably a swimming pool somewhere in sanfran

 **little talks @nettatalks** @memester @jjholtz i mean. it’s california. can confirm

 **eva @jjholtz** @nettatalks @memester california sounds faker and faker the more u talk abt it jay

 

19:32 / Coach: nope. Nada. you’re on a leash. We agreed.

19:33 / Coach: you can rack up all the air miles you want AFTER fina

19:34: this is terrible why did i agree to this again

19:35 / Coach: some guy. usual teenage bs

19:35 / Coach: bet you wish those rumours were true now huh

19:35: THEY COULD BE TRU

19:36 / Coach: sure

 

 **@Nike** Proud to sponsor openly gay Olympians @keithkogane and @lance-mcclain. Congratulations on finding each other! #LoveWins

 **smol n ready 2 brawl @loudbirb** @Nike i mean @lance-mcclain is bi but i guess u Tried Ur Best

 **Killer Queen @holyno** :’))))))))))) RT: @loudbirb @Nike i mean @lance-mcclain is bi but i guess u Tried Ur Best

 

**WHAT TEAM??? (6 people)**

Lance McClain: if i die, i’m so grateful i got to bless ur lives with my presence for the time we had

Takashi Shirogane: k

Pidge Gunderson: OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Pidge Gunderson: THAT WAS

Hunk Ka’uhune: u need ice buddy

Lance McClain: ugh

Lance McClain: i can’t believe i ever fell for ur PR

Lance McClain: literal bi-monthly reminder that allura is Way Too Good for u pal

Takashi Shirogane: there’s an obvious response to this, Lance

Lance McClain: KEITH

Lance McClain: KEITH

_[seen by Keith Kogane, 09:52]_

Pidge Gunderson: oh my god

Lance McClain: K  E I  TH  

Keith Kogane: guys calm down i’m in physio

 

07:03 / Keith <3: it’s worse at night

07:04: yeah

07:04: everything’s worse at night babe

07:05/ Keith <3: it’s not just me, right?

07:05: it’s never just u

07:06: try and sleep

07:06 / Keith <3: what do you think i’m trying to do lance

07:07: knowing u?

07:08: rewatching ur old routines

07:08: like a creeper

07:09: straight

07:09 / Keith <3: lance

07:09: up

07:09 / Keith <3: stop

07:09: creepin

07:09: N E V E R  

07:10: i was right

07:10: wasn’t i

07:11 / Keith <3: bye lance i’m sleeping now

07:11: ur welc <3333333

07:14 / Keith <3: <3

 

**@makeupbylana**

**Followers:** 352710

 **Follows:** 320

Accredited make up artist. @Sephora. #S4S

Contact me @ [ makeupbylana@gmail.com ](mailto:makeupbylana@gmail.com) for bookings!

 

_2 hours ago_

Burbank, California

[x]

when @lancemcclain brings u coffee before u put him in makeup for tonight. gna make him look so cute

_view 566 more comments..._

@hollyluna94 I’M LOVE HIM???

@hollyluna94 actual cinnamon roll strikes again @kora13

@helpmeobijuan is there gna be a livestream of this?

 

**Pidge Gunderson, Lance McClain:**

**Pidge Gunderson:** i can’t believe you’re LITERALLY in california and he’s in CANADA why is he in CANADA why would he be in CANADA

 **Lance McClain:** are u capitalising canada to make a point or is it autocorrect

 **Pidge Gunderson:** both

 **Pidge Gunderson:** and you can’t stay?

 **Lance McClain:** no

 **Lance McClain:** i hate everything and also life

 **Pidge Gunderson:** i’m sorry

 **Pidge Gunderson:** that’s rough buddy

 **Lance McClain:** ikr

 

 **Lance McClain @lance-mcclain** i’m talking on one of those moving picture things tonight @Telepictures @NBCUniversal @TheEllenShow

 **Lance McClain @lance-mcclain RT:** **@TheEllenShow** looking forward to chatting with Olympic sensation @lance-mcclain live on tonight’s show!

 

19:22 / Keith <3: i can hear you overthinking this from vancouver

19:22 / Keith <3: don’t

 

 **tiny koi @cinnamongirl** i s2g every time lance mcclain says ‘bisexual’ on the record i gain 10 yrs of life

 **hello from the other side @strangerboi** @cinnamongirl at this rate ur gonna live forever then

 **tiny koi @cinnamongirl** LOOK AT HIS DUMB FACE SRSLY don’t touch me don’t look at me leave me to die WHY IS HE LIKE THIS

 

_EDG: Recently, you started dating Keith Kogane, the American gymnast. How’s that going?_

_LM: Great! Yeah. He’s - he’s great. [laughs] Do you ever have that thing? You know, the thing?_

_EDG: I don’t know what thing. There’s a lot of things._

_LM: Where you’re like  - you look at them -_

_EDG: I look at Portia, yeah._

_[laughter from studio audience]_

_LM: No, I mean - you look at them and you forget all the shit you’ve got left to do. And then you remember it, because you’re like, oh, that’s why. You’re why. I don’t know, I’m just holding on here, I guess._

_[appreciative ‘awww’ sounds from studio audience, some applause]_

_EDG: Is he watching tonight?_

_LM: God, I hope not._

_[more laughter]_

**_Extract from Ellen DeGeneres interviewing Lance McClain, 5th May 2017._ **

 

 

 **slow down there buddy @galpal69** @lance-mcclain is so gone he’s in the fucking past #lancemcslain

 

**@keithkogane**

**Following:** 6  
**Followers:** 60009  
**Posts:** 24  
  
Keith Kogane  
Gold medallist (Men's Gymnastics) - Rio 2016 Olympics.  
  
_20m ago_  
Vancouver, Canada  
[X]  
I was watching.   **  
907 likes**

**_view 303 comments_ **

@kikokiko I’M YELLIN @callmejj

@mac-gal123  u 2 are the cutest i s2g

@callmejj @kikokiko I’M SHOOK

@angstgremlin i can’t beliEVE LANCE RANG HIM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERVIEW STILL @lucynelson1996

 

 **only-our-winter** :

[x]

tfw lance mcclain clearly has keith kogane on speed dial #lancemcslain

#otp: call you later #keith kogane #lance mcclain #HELP I’M LOVE THEM?? #lance’s face when keith answered the phone was so much #LANCE MCSLAIN #brb sobbing #queue u very much

**789 notes**

 

Lance McClain called Keith Kogane during his interview with Ellen (and it’s The Cutest Thing we’ve seen this year) -  Buzzfeed.com 

See What Happened When Keith Kogane Answers The Phone - Live On Ellen -  now.tv 

Kogane and McClain: the PR Coup of the Year -  ExecutiveNews.com 

Nike Faces Backlash For New Advert Featuring Openly Gay Olympians -   sportsdaily.co.uk 

Lance McClain, Biphobia and Swimming’s Crisis of Masculinity -  Medium.com 

Sweet Seventeen: how a gay Korean orphan became the poster boy of US Gymnastics -  Guardian.co.uk 

The delegitimatisation of gay identities in competitive gymnastics -  jstor.org 

College funding for Men’s Gymnastics teams soars in wake of 2016 Olympics -  nbcnews.com 

Lance McClain continues to deny move to US National Team -  sportsnews.com 

Younger generation, go!: Lance McClain attends National Youth Championships in Havana -  bbc.co.uk 

Lance McClain asked to present awards at the Cuban National Youth Championships -  usatoday.com 

 

18:32 / Keith <3: i can’t deal with this

18:33 / Keith <3: if u can’t come to me i’m coming to u

18:37: WAIT WHAT

18:52 / Keith <3: 19:45 arrival on tuesday. i’ll need a ride

 

*

 

“Buddy,” Hunk says, “I can feel you stressing from here, which isn’t saying much, you know? Keith can probably feel you stressing from here.”

“Oh my god,” Lance groans. The airport is crowded enough that Lance’s height doesn’t feel half the advantage it usually does.  “Don’t. Do not. Shouldn’t he be here by now?”

“There’s probably delays at border control.”

“Border control can shove it,” Lance snaps. “This is some Romeo and Juliet flavoured bullshit right here, Hunk.”   

“Uh-huh,” Hunk says, “Yeah. You’re star-crossed. Sure.”

His voice is at least half-laughter. Lance, jittery with excitement, is about to turn to glare at him, when he catches a flash of a red suitcase and catches his breath on instinct.

Keith’s wearing his leather jacket, the one he’s worn down to the ground and kept going with, and Lance loves him all over again, suddenly and fiercely for it. He's not said it yet. It's a matter of time. It's a last and longing weight on his tongue, it's him with his heart in his mouth.   Lance is dead on his feet from a day of practise and then rushing to the airport like that’ll slow down his racing traitor of a heart but Keith is here, in his old leather jacket, the one he’ll wear until it falls apart - because Keith commits, because Keith always means it. Keith looks up and sees him. The eye contact goes through Lance like falling backwards, like the moment the water closes over his head, like the shock of the starting whistle. Keith grins, briefly disappears as he weaves around a family. Lance doesn’t blink until he’s back in his eyeline, until Keith is right there and dropping his bags and jumping on Lance, sending him reeling in more ways than one. The weight of him is sudden and unfamiliar and sends Lance staggering backwards, Keith’s arms locking around his neck, his legs around Lance’s waist, his mouth a brand. Lance tips his head back and it’s only half some kind of surrender if you already took the last step off the ledge, right? Keith kisses him hard, because Keith always means it, and then pulls back.

“Let’s get out of here,” Keith says. His eyes are bright with exhaustion. He must be running on fumes. Lance is no better; Lance can hear Hunk laughing and doesn’t care.

“Yeah okay,” he replies, “You always have the best ideas.”

 

*

 

_I don’t think it’s easy. I don’t think it’s for everyone. He’s three hours ahead right now and that’s a lot of time and space sometimes. We’re making it work. I don’t mind putting the hours in. I have time._

  
**_Extract from interview with Keith Kogane, San Francisco Tribune, 20th April 2017._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading this! For those who are interested, I drew inspiration and example formatting from the [delete all accounts](http://archiveofourown.org/series/467410) series (All for the Game) by OneSweetMelody and the [Hello from the other side](http://archiveofourown.org/series/492973) series (Haikyuu!!) by mousecat and notallballs (notallbees). The Ellen interview where Lance rings Keith is based on a Sherlock fic I read when I was a baby gay in fandom - I'll try to hunt it down to properly credit, but I've been out of the fandom for years so if anyone has a clue hit me up?
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> And for those interested: in the 2020 Olympic Games, Shiro will be competing as a Paralympian, but I decided that story, if I tell it, deserved to have its own full developed arc than be in the background of this one.
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks so much again!
> 
>  
> 
>  

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [i love you for your sturdy arms](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12191322) by [TAHC (orphan_account)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/TAHC)
  * [The 2016 Stanley Cup Final, or: Hockey Prince Jack Zimmermann and His Boyfriend Just Broke the Internet](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13177689) by [iamclem](https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamclem/pseuds/iamclem)




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